News Round Up

[umichigan10]

DHS just looks kind of sad in this update

http://www.orlandoparksnews.com/2015/07/hollywood-studios-update-frozen-summer.html

Which is reflected in the absurd wait times for what is open in the studios

 

[skier_pete]

DHS just looks kind of sad in this update

http://www.orlandoparksnews.com/2015/07/hollywood-studios-update-frozen-summer.html

And amazingly it's probably going to get sadder before it gets better. I wonder if at some point they will reduce the one-day ticket price for DHS. (Don't expect to have any affect on the overall ticket price.)

You can opt out of getting another magicband if you already have a working one

http://www.wdwmagic.com/other/mymag...site-addresses-common-magicband-complaint.htm

About flippin' time! When we went in 2013 we had two-days on a room only before an 8-day FD package, and they insisted on giving us two sets of MB. Our upcoming trip is a split stay between BCV and the Poly, and again we were going to have two sets of MB. That would've given me 5 MB for everyone in our family in 3 trips in less than 2 years. Stupid.

When I saw this, I went on and declined the second set of MB for our split stay. It's not completely intuitive (of course) but I was able to figure it out quickly, you have to go int the customize menu and then they give you the option of declining the bands. You don't have to decline them all, so it looks like if some of your party already has them, you can just get them for those you do.

 

[iamsarahpotts]

You can opt out of getting another magicband if you already have a working one

http://www.wdwmagic.com/other/mymag...site-addresses-common-magicband-complaint.htm

This is good to know...of course I'll have to start declining AFTER I have one in every color for my collection.

 

[jlundeen]

You can opt out of getting another magicband if you already have a working one

http://www.wdwmagic.com/other/mymag...site-addresses-common-magicband-complaint.htm

How long do they last? How can we know if the ones we have from a previous visit still work?

 

[DDLand]

Come to think of it tho AK didn't have a large budget 900 million to build a park isn't much by today's standards. In 1998 maybe but a couple billion is what I would think to build a complete theme park.

I could be wrong, but the way I understand how DAK worked is the actual CapEx was more limited. The infrastructure and attractions weren't incredibly expensive, but other costs were. The operational expenditures and recurring costs ballooned to a massive size, and stayed high for a longtime thereafter.

In the same way MyMagic+ only had 1 billion spent on CapEx, DAK had a similarly small budget. And just like MyMagic+ costs ballooned to a reported additional 1 Billion, DAK operations expenses rapidly expanded too.

 

[iamsarahpotts]

How long do they last? How can we know if the ones we have from a previous visit still work?

The article stated due to the life of the batteries, you can use old ones for up to a year after you received them. Sounds like it won't let you opt out if you don't have any live bands attached to your account in that time frame.

Edit: "The new update gives those guests who are staying at a Walt Disney World Resort hotel the option to opt-out of receiving a band, with the proviso that they have an existing MagicBand already active on the My Disney Experience account, and that the existing MagicBand is less than 1 year old. MagicBands have a non-replaceable battery, so the operational lifespan is limited."

 

[experiment_6two6]

I'm sure this has been answered, but can someone explain what the flex space theatre thing is for?

 

[skier_pete]

How long do they last? How can we know if the ones we have from a previous visit still work?

I've been told the battery will last about 2 years.

They don't say it anywhere, but I asked last time we were there, and they will actually recycle the plastic from the old bands. Since I have no desire to collect all the colors, I'm going to bring a bag of MB with me for recycle next trip.

 

[skier_pete]

I'm sure this has been answered, but can someone explain what the flex space theatre thing is for?

So there was always a theater (Premiere Theater) over by LMA stunt show that was used for a variety of uses, including more recently the Frozen Sing-Along before it moved into the AI theater. This "flex space" theater (which I'm sure will get a new name) is to replace THAT theater. Again, no official announcement from Disney about this, but another strong hint that major work is coming to DHS, since they wouldn't need to build a replacement theater if the old one wasn't coming down.

 

[experiment_6two6]

So there was always a theater (Premiere Theater) over by LMA stunt show that was used for a variety of uses, including more recently the Frozen Sing-Along before it moved into the AI theater. This "flex space" theater (which I'm sure will get a new name) is to replace THAT theater. Again, no official announcement from Disney about this, but another strong hint that major work is coming to DHS, since they wouldn't need to build a replacement theater if the old one wasn't coming down.

Ahhhh that makes sense. Thanks for clearing that up!

 

[iamsarahpotts]

I'm sure this has been answered, but can someone explain what the flex space theatre thing is for?

So there was always a theater (Premiere Theater) over by LMA stunt show that was used for a variety of uses, including more recently the Frozen Sing-Along before it moved into the AI theater. This "flex space" theater (which I'm sure will get a new name) is to replace THAT theater. Again, no official announcement from Disney about this, but another strong hint that major work is coming to DHS, since they wouldn't need to build a replacement theater if the old one wasn't coming down.

I was wondering about this too! Thanks for asking and for answering, guys!

 

[Reddog1134]

The article stated due to the life of the batteries, you can use old ones for up to a year after you received them. Sounds like it won't let you opt out if you don't have any live bands attached to your account in that time frame.

Edit: "The new update gives those guests who are staying at a Walt Disney World Resort hotel the option to opt-out of receiving a band, with the proviso that they have an existing MagicBand already active on the My Disney Experience account, and that the existing MagicBand is less than 1 year old. MagicBands have a non-replaceable battery, so the operational lifespan is limited."

I have a split stay coming up which means I'm getting 2 sets of Magic Bands. It's not allowing me to decline them though. I guess since it's been more than a year since I received my last MB and I don't actually have the new ones "in hand" it won't allow me to decline the 2nd set.

Since my bands should ship 3 days apart, I'm wondering if I'll have a small window to cancel set 2 once set 1 ships.

 

[rteetz]

And amazingly it's probably going to get sadder before it gets better. I wonder if at some point they will reduce the one-day ticket price for DHS. (Don't expect to have any affect on the overall ticket price.)

I highly doubt they lower that ticket price because then they open up the flood gates for people to complain about ticket prices for say Epcot or if a ride is down etc. I don't think they can raise the ticket price for that park but I don't see them lowering it

 

[rteetz]

How long do they last? How can we know if the ones we have from a previous visit still work?

About a year

 

[mcjaco]

I wonder if at some point they will reduce the one-day ticket price for DHS. (Don't expect to have any affect on the overall ticket price.)

Who buys a one day ticket to DHS, anyway?

 

[rteetz]

Universal city walk construction update

http://www.orlandoparksnews.com/2015/07/citywalk-update-nbc-sports-grill-brew.html

 

[rteetz]

The second story of the east parking garage has started at DTD

http://savepleasureisland.blogspot.com/2015/07/dtd-update-east-garage-climbs.html

 

[rteetz]

The shell of adventurers club and STK construction updates

http://savepleasureisland.blogspot.com/2015/07/pi-update-stk-stuff.html

 

[rteetz]

Alright everyone here we go! Time to start part two of the very popular news thread. Lets avoid the comments about how confusing it is to switch threads and lets get this show on the road.

1. Universal Orlando has just filed a trademark name "Volcano Bay". Is this the new name for that new rumored water park? Or is this just something they plan to add to Wet and Wild?

2. Also at Universal sad news coming from the Kong expansion. There was just some MASSIVE budget cuts taken to the ride so you can imagine things were scaled back big. This ride is reverting more to the version you see in Hollywood just more expanded and in a temple setting. Many of the giant AA's planned for the ride are cut with the exception of one or two at the time. More details as they come.

3. Dinosaur to see some work during the overnight hours. This ahead of when the parks begins to operate during those night hours that are coming very soon. No idea as to what they will do.

4. The Frozen overlay in Norway just had so MAJOR money thrown at it. What was expected to be a cheap overlay may just be a little more. Setting aside the thoughts of Frozen being there, the ride may see some big upgrades to make this a whole new experience.

A year later...

Volcano bay is happening and happening very quickly

Kong didn't get the budget cuts as rumored

Still nothing on this

We know the frozen ride details and opening in May

 

[skier_pete]

I have a split stay coming up which means I'm getting 2 sets of Magic Bands. It's not allowing me to decline them though. I guess since it's been more than a year since I received my last MB and I don't actually have the new ones "in hand" it won't allow me to decline the 2nd set.

Since my bands should ship 3 days apart, I'm wondering if I'll have a small window to cancel set 2 once set 1 ships.

Apologize to all for this being off-topic.

@Reddog1134 I was just able to do this exact thing. On the main MB and cards page, you can't, but if you choose to "customize" the second set of bands, then under each individual band, you can decline each band individually.